Astoria, Oregon.
bowers8554/Flickr
Last month, the Astoria City Council narrowly approved a plan to develop a vacant block in its downtown corridor. The plan calls for building workforce housing for low-income renters and supportive housing for people in mental health treatment.
Joan Herman is an Astoria city councilor. She told OPB’s “Think Out Loud” that the need for housing is a top priority in the city and the location for the development remains unused.
There’s a “dire need for affordable housing in our community,” she said. “Especially because we rely to a great extent on the tourism industry, which means generally speaking lower wage workers.”
But some community members claim that the housing being proposed could have a negative impact on downtown businesses.
The city will collect public input on the housing development plan at a meeting scheduled for Monday.
Listen to the entire conversation: